The Trump administration has in recent weeks flip-flopped on tariff policy, casting a cloud of constant macroeconomic uncertainty over markets.
While the sweeping tariffs have arguably exerted downward pressure on crypto prices, President Trump’s top crypto advisor has revealed that they may have just become key in funding the U.S. strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve without using taxpayer funds.
Buying Bitcoin With Tariff Revenue
Speaking in a recent interview with prominent Bitcoin bull Anthony Pompliano, Bo Hines, the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, noted that the Trump regime is exploring various “budget-neutral” methods to acquire more Bitcoin.
“We’re looking at many creative ways, whether it be from tariffs, whether it be from something else. I mean, there’re literally countless ways in which you can do this,” Hines posited. “Everything’s on the table.”
Hines’ revelation comes after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create the nation’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve last month. The U.S. currently holds just over 198,000 BTC, per data from Arkham Intelligence.
Hines compared Bitcoin to gold and asserted that the government intends to hold, not offload, its Bitcoin holdings. He then reiterated that the Trump administration wants to buy as much of the flagship crypto as possible without affecting taxpayers:
“We obviously have made it very clear that we want to acquire as much as we can get,” Hines posited. “It stipulates that we have to acquire Bitcoin in budget-neutral ways that don’t cost a taxpayer a dime.”
Aside from the creative strategy of utilizing revenues from tariffs for Bitcoin buys, Hines highlights Senator Cynthia Lummis’s BITCOIN Act of 2025, which would revalue Treasury gold certificates from their outdated valuation of roughly $43 per ounce to reflect current market prices surpassing $3,000 per ounce.
The Trump government’s plans notably include collaboration between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and other officials within the inter-agency digital assets working group to formulate Bitcoin acquisition strategies to turn the U.S. into “the Bitcoin superpower of the globe,” the White House advisor said.
“We’re gonna make sure that no stone is unturned as we start fleshing out some of these processes. We’ll come together and flesh out some of these ideas and really get to the best solution,” Hines stated.
